Project brief template

Write the question, required inputs, deliverable and acceptance criteria before commissioning a project.

Your working copy

Fill in the fields you can answer and mark missing information as unknown. Entries are not sent to B&F. Save a TXT copy for work you want to keep.

Decision and deadlineWho must choose what, by when? What happens without this work?Options and essential conditionsInclude the current arrangement. Which conditions must every option meet?Current approach and missing answerWhat does your team or supplier already cover? Which unresolved point could change the decision?Output and boundaryWhat will someone receive and use? Name the scope and excluded work.Inputs and client contributionWhich files and versions are available, who may share them, and who can explain them? Mark gaps.Review and acceptanceWho checks the important claims? How will the decision owner accept the output?Scope, price and handoverHow is work priced? Which changes require agreement? What will be handed over, and when must it be refreshed?

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Instructions

Write the decision
Name who must choose, the real alternatives and the date. Include what happens if no new analysis is available. Replace “understand the market” with a choice the owner can make.
Record: One decision sentence and its owner.
Identify what could change it
List essential conditions and unresolved questions that could alter the choice. Include keeping the current arrangement. Check what your team or existing tool already covers.
Record: Decision criteria and genuine gaps.
Define the output and boundary
Specify a usable comparison, shortlist or source-backed recommendation. State the coverage and exclusions. Page count alone does not show whether the work answers the question.
Record: A concrete deliverable and excluded work.
Confirm inputs and people
List exact files, dates, permissions and people needed. Separate evidence available now from evidence still promised. Assign someone to explain the data and a suitably qualified reviewer.
Record: An input list, owners and a review plan.
Agree acceptance and changes
Describe how the owner will test the output. Agree scope, pricing, handover and what requires a new agreement. If the inputs prevent credible scoping, agree a bounded input review first.
Record: A brief both sides can accept, or a precise reason to pause.

Worked example

Worked example / Fictional

Fictional worked example. All businesses, documents and amounts are invented for learning; no client result is claimed.

From “reduce shipping cost” to a usable brief

Starting request: Reduce shipping costs and find a better carrier.
Decision: The operations director will decide by 30 November 2026 whether to renew carrier A or move the defined domestic parcel service to carrier B.
Essential conditions: Both options must meet the required postcode coverage, parcel limits, pickup times and returns process. Exclude an option that fails an essential condition before ranking its price.
Scope: Reprice the same 1,000 fictional parcels from one closed month under two dated offers. Include known transport charges, relevant surcharges, returns and internal work. Keep missing items visible.
Inputs: Operations supplies the shipment export and explains handling. Finance supplies the matching invoice and credits. The commercial owner supplies offers and amendments. Resolve missing dimensions before pricing affected parcels.
Deliverable: A traceable comparison, unresolved contract questions, a sensitivity check and a short recommendation for this decision.
Acceptance: A reviewer can trace each price rule to an offer and reproduce selected parcel calculations. The director can see service failures and which missing input could reverse the conclusion.
Excluded work: Carrier negotiation, contract signature, system integration and guaranteed savings are outside this brief.
Commercial boundary: If the sample cannot be reconciled, agree a capped input review first. Agree the comparison fee after confirming scope. A third offer or new country requires a revised agreement; no fee is assumed here.
Handover: Provide the calculation and assumptions. Recheck the recommendation when offers expire or the shipment mix changes.

The useful outcome is a decision the owner can justify. Keeping carrier A can be a valid conclusion.

Sources and limits

Original B&F application. These sources inform the method; they do not validate this tool or establish results for your business.

An original Brief & Field working aid, not a validated questionnaire or guarantee of results.
A brief is a working specification, not a complete contract. It does not create data access, expertise or a budget.
A deadline does not make missing evidence reliable. Narrow the decision or record the gap when the intended scope cannot be supported.

Public buyer guidance
The Consultancy Playbook
Define outcomes and deliverables, identify client inputs, consider existing capability, and plan handover. Scope clarity matters when agreeing a pricing model.
Passages examined and limitations
PDF pp.12, 14, 22–23, 31 and 40; printed pp.10, 12, 20–21, 29 and 38.
UK government buyer guidance, not an evaluation of this worksheet. Selected principles are adapted here; procurement rules are not carried over.
Analytical quality guidance
The AQuA Book
Agree the question and constraints; check both correct execution and fitness for the decision; record data, assumptions, uncertainty and review.
Passages examined and limitations
Sections 6.1–6.4, 8.2.1–8.2.2 and 8.3–8.4.
A quality framework, not a trial of these guides. Checks should match the intended use and consequences of error.

Linked publications keep their own terms. Free access does not grant permission to republish them. Reuse the original B&F worksheet.

Your working copy

Instructions

Write the decision

Identify what could change it

Define the output and boundary

Confirm inputs and people

Agree acceptance and changes

Worked example

Sources and limits

The Consultancy Playbook

The AQuA Book